California Man Tries to Hijack Bus Full of Children, Says ‘Jesus Is Coming’ & ‘I Must Go to the Mission’

November 8, 2018

A California man was arrested in Fresno on Monday after he tried to hijack a bus full of schoolchildren, declaring that “Jesus is coming.”

The Fresno Bee reported that the incident unfolded on Monday evening, when a school bus driver and gas station clerk prevented the man, 47-year-old Christopher Martinez, from driving away with a bus full of 41 Reagan Elementary School students.

The bus was reportedly returning from a science camp in Oakhurst when it stopped in south Fresno to allow the students to use the restroom. That is when Martinez stepped onto the bus, and declared that he needed “to go to the mission,” and that “Jesus is coming.”

Lt. Mark Hudson explained that the man was referring to the Roman Catholic mission in San Gabriel in Southern California, which is named after the Archangel Gabriel and was founded in 1771.

Martinez reportedly grabbed the female driver by the collar and tried to pull her off her seat, but she took the keys from the ignition, which set off an alarm.

The suspect walked back and forth to the back of the bus, but did not touch any of the students. Hudson revealed that the bus driver and the teacher demanded that Martinez leave the bus.

A gas station clerk then joined in the efforts, and finally the man walked off before police arrived and arrested him. He was booked at the Fresno County Jail on attempted carjacking charges, with the bond set at $27,500.